Modi may invite Pope Francis to India, after all!

Prime Minister Modi has reassured the members of the Catholic Community that his first priority is the ‘welfare of the people’, and the eradication of poverty. And that he will ‘look into’ issues of intimidation and harassment of Christians , if brought to his notice.

Mr. Modi is understood to have ‘reacted positively’ to the desire of the Catholic community to invite His Holiness Pope Francis visit India. This took place at a meeting between Cardinal Oswald Gracias, the head of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, today (March 20) it is learnt.

According to a Press release issued by the CBCI, the Cardinal, while outlining the contribution of the Church in nation building, also drew the Prime Minister’s attention towards the growing anxiety in certain sections of the community, because of the sporadic attacks on minority institutions in different parts of the country.

The Cardinal indicated that if an unambigious message emanated from Mr Modi, that such acts of violence were unlawful and would not be tolerated, it would discourage the misguided from creating mischief.

The Prime Minister reiterated that he was Prime Minister for all Indians, regardless of caste, and creed and that he would look into any ‘issue ‘ that was brought to his attention. The meeting that took place this morning at the Prime Minister’s office was cordial, and reassuring, the release said.